PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a column, Asean Today, that will cease when Phuketwan closes on December 31.

wsj.com Ten Southeast Asian nations start an ambitious, US-backed experiment today: integrating their economies in a bid to bring more global sway and prosperity to the region's 622 million citizens.

Singapore

channelnewsasia.com The Israeli Embassy in Singapore has apologised after one of its junior staff members displayed ''deplorable behavior'' by using a Singapore flag as a table cloth at a party on Sunday.

Philippines

cnn.com A priest in the Philippines has been reprimanded by church leaders for his creative idea to get worshipers moving during a Christmas service: using a hoverboard. On Christmas Eve, the priest, who hasn't been named, used the toy to glide in and out of rows of churchgoers while singing a Christmas song.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGI9yRRVQm8

Vietnam

channelnewsasia.com The tourism industry in Vietnam is likely to continue having a shortage of skilled workers in 2016 even as the ASEAN Community takes effect.

Malaysia

smh.com.au Australian actor Eliza Szonert, stranded in Malaysia after snatching her son, was set to return home with the boy within 48 hours, according to the child recovery company involved in the operation.

Thailand

nasdaq.com Thailand's economy continued improving, though at a gradual pace, in November mainly on the back of domestic spending, according to the monthly report from the Bank of Thailand.

Indonesia

channelnewsasia.com Female motorbike taxi drivers in headscarves zig-zag through heavy traffic in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, the latest two-wheeled transport service for women making a dent in the male-dominated world of ride-hailing apps in the Muslim nation.

metro.co.uk Briton Lindsay Sandiford, 59, who was sentenced to death in Indonesia after being convicted of drug smuggling, could face a firing squad in the New Year after it was reported that the country could lift its ban on executions.

Myanmar

voanews.com Myanmar citizens are continuing to hold protests to demand the release of two migrant workers sentenced to death in Thailand last week for the murder of a British tourist couple.

Cambodia

rfa.org Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's youngest son said that he intends to succeed his father in the authoritarian Southeast Asian country's top office, although he did not specifically mention his plans for the next general elections in July 2018.

Laos

rfa.org Laos has continued to transport logs from its forests to Vietnam, despite a government ban on timber exports that took effect in August and a leaked report by an international environmental group two months ago, revealing huge increases in illegal logging with the implication of government collusion.